Today is Caol Ila day at Feis Ile 2017 and let me tell you something: Caol Ila may be the least sexy (or most boring – up for you to decide) distillery on Islay. We’re so familiar with their standard and unchanged lineup expressions and with no new expressions popping out from the distillery, it seems like Caol Ila is a bit forgotten. But let me tell you something: the spirit they produce at Caol Ila? It is underrated.
There are some jolly good whiskies coming out from those copper stills. Old Caol Ila whiskies are amazing and even the younger whiskies can be good.
Want a proof? Today’s whisky is your evidence. Initially I planned a review of te Official Caol Ila 25 yo which is more than decent and is available for purchase for a very decent price, but I ‘slipped’ and drank it all without writing notes. Oops.
So next Caol Ila on the shelf was this 19 year old Caol Ila bottled by SMWS. It’s a clear proof that Caol Ila whisky is good and also my first SMWS review in a long while. Damn I should review more of those!
SMWS 53.233 Fireman’s Gloves on a Mermaid (19 Year Old Caol Ila) (60.5%, 258 bottles)
Nose: Full of brine and salt, pudding-y, gentle peat smoke and bonfire smoke from afar, somewhat medicinal although it’s not laphroaig-esque and juicy. Continue reading
Nose: Classic Caol Ila peat smoke, red apples, lemon, smoke and saltiness, malt cereals, cream, cured meat and after a while some fruity fragrance. It’s a mellow nose and not a very complex one but it has structure and backbone. With a few drops of water it’s fruitier with more honey, a touch of pineapple, extra vanilla and pears, richer and stronger. 
Nose: Dusty, oh so dusty, much more dusty than the 15 yo, that I had to re-check the bottle for whisky turbidity. Vanilla and honey, traces of peat smoke (even here you can’t really escape it ah?), pears, peaches and golden apples. After a few more minutes in the glass, it gets less dusty (although it’s still there in big way), sweeter and fruitier. 
Nose: Sweetness and peat with sweetness at first dominating the nose. Lemon and coconuts, a bit oily. With time there are ashes on the nose. With water it’s spicier and bring out a huge coconut concentration. 
Nose: Starts with a wave of sweet fruits and it’s very dusty (partially due to the high ABV) and heavy, creamy cereal, lemon and despite it being unpeated, I occasionally do smell some sweet peat. With a few drops of water the ABV drops down and the dusty notes turns to mineral notes with salty touch, it becomes more sweet and fruity with tropical fruits like mango and passion-fruits. 
Nose: Hmm, I tend to forget how age diminish the peat impact and so the initial big fruity note caught me a bit off guard but then a gentle peat smoke joins in the background with pine, apples and sweet green melon. there may be even a bit of perfume here. with a few drops of water we also get honey. 